This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. P2000-197575, filed on Jun. 30, 2000, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an electronic apparatus, system, and method for controlling communication among devices coupled through different interfaces. More particularly, the invention relates to an electronic apparatus, system, and method for coupling different types of electronic devices through a high-speed serial bus to a personal computer.
2. Background of the Invention
A high-speed serial bus may be used to couple various electronic devices. For example, an IEEE 1394 bus may be used to couple a personal computer (PC) with digital information devices such as a digital video camera, a hard disk drive (HDD), or a magneto-optical drive. The IEEE 1394 bus may also couple a digital broadcast receiving device and a digital television.
To communicate between the PC and one or more electronic devices coupled through the IEEE 1394 serial bus, a plurality of protocols including the Serial Bus Protocol 2.0 (SBP2) and the AV/C digital interface command set (AVC), have been developed based on the IEEE 1394 serial bus standard.
Each electronic device coupled through the IEEE 1394 serial bus (hereinafter referred to as a xe2x80x9c1394 devicexe2x80x9d) may offer different functions. When a PC accesses each device coupled through the IEEE 1394 bus, it may identify the functions offered by the devices. The address space of each 1394 device includes a configuration read-only memory (ROM) that prescribes each function of the 1394 device. The PC may read the information in the configuration ROM to determine how to access the 1394 device.
The PC may read the information recorded in the configuration ROM for each device to identify each 1394 device coupled to the serial bus. When the PC recognizes a 1394 device, it may then determine available protocols for communicating with the 1394 device.
For example, if the 1394 device is a HDD device the SBP2 communication protocol may be used to control the 1394 HDD device. The SBP2 protocol may be used to exchange Small Computer System Interface (SCS1) commands between the PC and the 1394 HDD device. The configuration ROM for the 1394 HDD device may store a description that identifies functions of the device that support the SBP2 communication protocol.
A PC may enter a bus reset phase to identify variations of topology of the IEEE 1394 serial bus and node status. During the reset phase the PC may detect the configuration ROMs of each IEEE 1394 device and perform an initialization process for each 1394 device detected using one or more supported communication protocols.
An IEEE 1394//IDE conversion device may be used to couple an IDE device, such as a HDD or CD-ROM drive to the PC through the IEEE 1394 serial bus. The conversion device may determine the coupling of each IDE device to an IDE port in the conversion device. The conversion device may include a configuration ROM to store information for each IDE device as a fixed value.
Generally, all IDE devices coupled to an IDE port in the conversion device are referred to by corresponding IDE device identifiers. However, there are different communication control schemes for IDE devices. For example, devices such as HDDs and Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) memory cards typically communicate using the Advanced Technology Attachment (ATA) control system. Whereas devices such as CD-ROM drives and magneto-optical drives typically communicate using the ATA with Packet Interface (ATAPI) control system. Thus, the IDE devices coupled to the IDE port may use different types of control systems.
Problems may occur when a conventional conversion device stores the information for IDE devices using different control systems in the configuration ROM without regard to the different control systems used. A conventional conversion device may misidentify IDE devices coupled to the IDE port as using the same control system when IDE devices using different control systems are actually coupled to the IDE port of the conversion device.
Accordingly, conventional apparatuses and methods for communicating among 1394 devices contain serious shortcomings, even if each 1394 device may be accessed from every 1394 node coupled to the 1394 bus.
Therefore, there is a need for an apparatus, system and method to provide reliable communication and control among electronic devices coupled through different types of interfaces, while solving one or more of the above-mentioned problems and defects of a conventional apparatus and method.
The present invention includes a novel apparatus, system and method for providing reliable communications and controlling access to peripheral devices, while solving one or more of the above-mentioned problems and defects of a conventional apparatus and method. An apparatus, system, and method consistent with the present invention may control access to a particular device by selectively allowing or forbidding access to data, based on the node requesting access to the particular device.
Consistent with one aspect of the invention, an electronic apparatus is provided comprising a first communication means for communicating with a first device; a second communication means, separate from the first communication means, for communicating with a second device having first information for communication; receiving means for receiving the first information through the second communication means; memory means for storing the first information in a predetermined format; sending means for sending the first information from the memory means, through the first communication means and to the first device, in accordance with a request for the first information from the first device.
Consistent with another aspect of the invention, an electronic apparatus is provided comprising an IEEE 1394 interface for communicating with an IEEE 1394 device; an Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE) interface for coupling to a first IDE device and a second IDE device, wherein the first IDE device has first information for enabling other devices to communicate with the first IDE device, the second IDE device has second information for enabling other devices to communicate with the second IDE device, and the first IDE device and the second IDE device are detachably coupled to the IDE interface; a controller for reading the first information for the first IDE device and the second information for the second IDE device through the IDE interface; a memory for storing the first information and the second information; and logic for selectively sending either the first information or the second information, through the IEEE 1394 interface and to the IEEE 1394 device, in accordance with a request from the IEEE 1394 device.
Consistent with an aspect of the invention a system is provided comprising a first device having a first communication means that couples the first device to a second device and a second communication means, separate from the first communication means, that couples the first device to a third device, wherein the second device has first information for communicating between the second device and the third device; and the first device includes means for reading the first information through the first communication means, memory means for storing the first information, and means for transmitting the first information to the third device through the second communication means in accordance with a request for the first information by the third device.
Consistent with another aspect of the invention an electronic system is provided including a first device having a first communication means and a second communication means; a second device, coupled to the first communication means in the first device and having first information for communicating between the second device and a third device; the third device, coupled to the second communication means in the first device; wherein the first device includes means for reading the first information, a controller for converting the first information into a predetermined format that can be read by the third device; a memory for storing the first information in the predetermined format; and an interface for sending the first information from the memory to the third device through the second communication means in accordance with a request for the first information by the third device.
Consistent with an aspect of the invention, a method is provided for controlling communications between a first device and a second device, wherein the first device includes a first communication means and a second communication means, separate from the first communication means, for communicating first information with the second device, the method comprising reading the first information for communicating between the first device and the second device; converting the first information into a predetermined format associated with the second device; storing the converted information in a memory in the predetermined data format; and sending the converted information from the memory to the second device in accordance with a request from the second device through the second communication means.
Methods and system consistent with still another aspect of the invention include a conversion device that interfaces one or more peripheral devices to at least one processor using a second communication bus, the conversion device comprising a peripheral interface for coupling the conversion device to the one or more peripheral devices; a memory for storing information about the one or more peripheral devices; a controller, coupled to the peripheral interface, the memory and a serial bus interface, wherein the controller includes: logic that detects each peripheral device coupled to the peripheral interface, logic that determines a type of each detected peripheral device and stores the determined type in the memory, logic that determines a protocol for communicating with each detected peripheral device and stores the determined protocol in the memory, and logic that sends the stored information through the serial bus interface to the at least one processor, in response to a request from the at least one processor.
Specific embodiments of the invention may include an Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE) interface, IEEE 1394 interface also known as a FIREWIRE(trademark) interface, or an Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface. Additionally, the conversion device may communicate using an Advanced Technology Attachment (ATA) protocol or an ATA with Packet Interface (ATAPI) protocol.
Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. Additional features and advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention, as claimed.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate an embodiment of the invention and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.